Chapter 147: The Mission Is Accomplished

Without encountering any further danger along the way, Han Shuo and the others made it safely out of the underground world and out of the mountain valley they'd come in through.

Although this time's outing had been a little different from the original plan, he was still pleased with the overall result. Not only had he received two wagonloads of gold and jewellery from the dark elves, he'd also received a chest of beautiful crystals, a mysterious bow, and a dark dragon subordinate. Han Shuo felt that this journey had been well worth it.

As they walked towards the forest troll village, Dark Dragon Gilbert kept complaining, switching between wanting Han Shuo to return his crystal chest and Han Shuo finding beauties for him. Indifferent to his whining, Han Shuo flatly refused him.

Knowing a lost cause when he saw one, the dark dragon did not waste any more of his breath, preferring instead to sulk in a corner and tend to his wounds. Meanwhile, Han Shuo wasn't idle either. He mastered another journeyman level necromancy magic, 'Dark Fog'. Not only could this magic create fog within a certain radius, but it was cast in such a way that the caster would be unaffected, only the enemy's vision would be obscured. It was a very practical magic to use when attacking and running away.

Han Shuo had by now learned most of the Demonic Ninth Heaven art. After a few tests, he discovered that apart from a few problems with the grasping direction, all his other problems had been solved by continuous practice. It seemed that he would soon be able to fly through the air.

When they passed the forest trolls' sacred ground, Han Shuo told the forest trolls to wait outside. He and the little skeleton went inside and stored all the remaining treasures in his space ring. The place of Extreme Wood was still of great use to Han Shuo, so he left special instructions for the forest trolls guarding the sacred ground to keep an eye on the place.

Upon returning to the village, Han Shuo discovered signs of a violent battle outside the village. When he entered the village and listened to the old priest's summary, he learned that the forest trolls, who had gathered from all over, had attacked the elves after they'd left. The forest trolls' superior numbers forced the elves to retreat after losing a few of their own.

As a god worshipped by the forest trolls, the little skeleton was worshipped by all the forest trolls. Han Shuo then gave instructions to the old priest and took all the luxury items they'd stolen from the McGrady Guild. Using the excuse of observing potential targets, he left the forest trolls with the little skeleton and the lecherous dragon Gilbert.

After a few days of walking, Han Shuo arrived at the Cemetery Of Death. Because of the contract, Han Shuo wasn't afraid of Gilbert revealing his secrets and led him directly to the Cemetery of Death. When Gilbert discovered that Han Shuo possessed the Cemetery of Death, a series of fawning words poured out of his mouth, praising Han Shuo to the heavens.

"All right, you stay here temporarily and rest. I'll come find you when I have instructions." Han Shuo paid no attention to Gilbert's impetuousness and left through the transport matrix. He returned to the capital of the empire, Ossen City.

Han Shuo discovered Emily's tracks immediately after leaving the cemetery. This cave was where Han Shuo had placed the transportation matrix to transport in and out of the Cemetery of Death. Apart from Han Shuo, only Emily knew about it.

From Emily's message, Han Shuo knew that Emily had come looking for him and wanted him to contact Chester at the Dark Mantle as soon as he'd returned from the Cemetery of Death.

Picking up the transport staff from the ground, he didn't return to the Academy, but headed for the Dark Mantle stronghold instead.

"Oh, you've finally arrived! Mistress Emily has been looking for you many times. I've also been to your academy to look for you, but I couldn't find any trace of you. In the end, Mistress Emily told me to stay here and that you'd contact me. To think you'd actually show up!" Coincidentally, the bandit guard Chester walked out when Han Shuo arrived at the Dark Mantle's stronghold and started shouting excitedly.

"Did something go wrong that Emily is looking for me so urgently?" Han Shuo asked questioningly when he saw Chester's worried look.

Chester nodded and shook his head, "Something must have happened, but Mistress Emily didn't tell me exactly what happened."

"Then what did Emily tell you?" Han Shuo knew that Emily would not tell Chester information he had no right to know, so he asked about Emily's instructions for Chester.

"Leave the capital with me immediately. We must go to Valen City. Mistress Emily should be there by now." Chester replied and then added, "Mistress Emily told me to take you to Valen City and contact her through the organisation. She'll explain everything to you then."

"Then let's go!" Han Shuo nodded in agreement.

Valen City was located on the western border of the Empire, separated from the Kasi Empire by the Kerlan Grand Canyon. The Empire's Gryphon Legion was stationed there to defend against the Kasi Empire.

Han Shuo only realised the true strength of the Dark Mantle when they were on the move. Han Shuo and Chester used the Dark Mantle's transportation matrix to travel directly from the Dark Mantle's headquarters to Valen City.

When the two arrived in Valen City and contacted the local Dark Mantle members, the local members immediately prepared a carriage for them when they heard that the two were on business for Emily. The carriage went straight to the hotel where Emily was staying.

The soil of Valen City was poor, so the only time the entire city would be buzzing with activity was when the Lancelot Empire went to war with the Kasi Empire. But after so many years of war, the already poor city of Valen had become even poorer. Many of the locals had already moved to other places, and those who remained were trading with the army.

Han Shuo hadn't seen Emily for a long time. Emily had settled into an elegant room in the spacious hotel and was furiously writing something. She was quite overjoyed when she saw Han Shuo, but became serious when she saw Chester following behind him: "Chester, you wait outside first, I have some words for Han Shuo.

Chester wasn't unhappy at all and retreated quite respectfully. He stood guard outside for Han Shuo and Emily and prevented others from interrupting their conversation.

"I've already left instructions with the forest trolls. Whoever comes to buy the siege weapons will be able to do so." Han Shuo walked directly towards Emily and came to the side of a burning brazier.

"Our target this time is the Gryphon Legion. According to our speculations, the head of the Gryphon Legion is planning a rebellion. I need to gather evidence." Emily didn't hide anything and spoke directly about her plans.

Han Shuo gave a start of fear, but then felt joy slowly forming inside him. As the sons of the Chief of the Gryphon Legion, Claude and Clark had long held a deep grudge against Han Shuo. Claude had died at his hands and Clark had tried to assassinate him before. It looked like he'd be able to kill Clark on this mission as well.

"Why does the head of a legion want to rebel?" Although he was happy, Han Shuo didn't forget the task at hand and asked confusedly.

"His Majesty's health has been deteriorating, getting worse and worse. The two princes aren't worth much, and neither of them can really earn his trust. Curiously, the head of the Gryphon Legion asked His Majesty to marry the princess to his son Clark. Though His Majesty ultimately rejected him, the chief still wields great military power, and his motives for petitioning remain unclear.

"The Dark Mantle then discovered that his movements were becoming a bit suspicious. They seem to indicate that he is in contact with the Kasi Empire. Our goal is to gather as much evidence as possible. Once we have enough evidence, my brother will personally take action and arrest the head of the Gryphon Legion. Emily looked at Han Shuo and explained.

"Then what should we do next?" Since Emily knew the details of this mission much better than Han Shuo, he didn't dare to give his opinion and asked Emily directly.

"According to our Dark Mantle's observations, there seems to be a storm brewing within the empire. The Kasi Empire is watching us with greedy eyes and seems ready to launch a fierce attack as soon as His Majesty dies. The chief of the Gryphon Legion won't make his move immediately, but since you've already given your orders to the forest trolls, I believe the siege weapons stolen from the McGrady Guild will soon appear in Valen City.

"This batch of siege weapons could be what Gryphon Legion Chief Bob Ascher is planning to use to attack the palace. As long as we can discover this batch of siege weapons in their house, we can arrest them before they start their rebellion." Emily explained as she looked at Han Shuo.

"His son Clark isn't in Valen City right now. I want to kill him first!" Han Shuo suddenly spoke in a low voice when he finished listening to Emily's words.

Emily started when she heard those words. She couldn't understand how Han Shuo knew Clark and had such hatred for him.